There are a thousand reasons why the United States is likely to be well on its way to a ninth straight win at this event during the three days of the 2022 Presidents Cup. The most important – and the continuous line for Davis Love III’s squad – is a pair that finished first on Saturday afternoon and will carry a perfect record into Sunday’s singles games.
Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth played 64 holes in the first four sessions at Quail Hollow Golf Club and came down after just two. In fact, the duo was 4 UP for as many holes (2) as it was trailing, and it was 3 UP or better for more holes than it was trailing or even. That’s hard to do in any series of matches, but even more so against a handful of the best players in the world.
Spieth pitted against Hideki Matsuyama and Taylor Pendrith on Saturday afternoon to finish a 2-0-0 day that started nine hours earlier when the pair went out in fours against Sungjae Im and Corey Conners. They won both matches 4 and 3, and by the time they finished their afternoon match, they had won as many points (4) as the entire international team, which consists of the best players from all countries of the world outside of Europe.
Their point in the afternoon session is all the Americans managed to get their hands on. It was a big one — 11-7 is a lot different from 10-8 — especially with the horses that the US can send early in the singles competitions.
Incredibly, Thomas brought his team record to 16-4-3 in Presidents Cups and Ryder Cups, and his heady, club-spinning show remains the epicenter of all American teams, regardless of the event. Still, it was Spieth who picked him up in the afternoon with six birdies, including that closing chip where he had caddy Michael Greller pull the stick and place it right in the middle of the cup.
It’s kind of lost because the “these guys are best friends” rhetoric (and the subsequent mockery of that easygoing story) drowns out everything else, but Spieth and Thomas were great at team events together. They went 3-1-0 in the 2018 Ryder Cup, 1-1-0 in last year’s Ryder Cup and then 4-0-0 this time at Quail Hollow, making their overall team match play 8-2-0. . Their only team losses together are to Francesco Molinari and Tommy Fleetwood at the 2018 Ryder Cup and to Jon Rahm and Sergio Garcia at the 2021 Ryder Cup.
You can point to some of the benefits the US enjoys in the Presidents Cup — better overall players, more height off the tee, a course where they thrive — but I keep coming back to this duo and its importance to the vitality of the United States. American squad. There’s nothing like having a clutch that you can steer against any competition at any time, and you can be sure that you’ll be in for a war (and probably a point). Spieth and Thomas are those guys on this team, and they held the rope on a Saturday when the other 10 Americans definitely needed it.
Here’s a rundown of every game from the Day 3 Four Ball Session of the 2022 Presidents Cup.
2022 Presidents Cup results, USA results: 11 | Internationals: 7Day 3 — Four Ball: Internationals 3 | US 1
1
Patrick Cantlay & Xander Schauffele
WIN 1 UP
Tom Kim & Si Woo Kim
2
Jordan Spieth & Justin Thomas
WIN 4&3
Taylor Pendrith & Hideki Matsuyama
3
Tony Finau & Kevin Kisner
WIN 3&2
Sungjae Im & Sebastian Munoz
4
Billy Horschel & Sam Burns
WIN 1 UP
Adam Scott & Cam Davis
Day 3 — Foursome: VS 2 | Internationals: 2
1
Jordan Spieth & Justin Thomas
Win 4&3
Sungjae Im & Corey Conners
2
Cameron Young & Collin Morikawa
Win 3&2
Adam Scott & Hideki Matsuyama
3
Scottie Scheffler & Sam Burns
Win 2&1
KH Lee & Tom Kim
4
Tony Finau & Max Homa
Win 4&3
Si Woo Kim & Cam Davis
Match 1: Kim/Kim 1 UP over Cantlay/Schauffele
It was the match of the day and arguably the match of the 2022 Presidents Cup as the Kim and Kim duo was electric from the word “go”. By lifting the roof and pumping up the crowd on the first tee, the South Korean tandem was able to hold its own against American powerhouses Schauffele and Cantlay.
The two teams traded birdies for most of the first nine. A mental foul by the internationals on the par-3 10th extended the American lead to 2 UP, but was quickly reinstated with an eagle on the par-4 11th – Tom’s second of the day on that hole.
They kept their foot on the gas, and after exchanging birdies on the par-5 12th, the game finally equalized when Si Woo connected from 22 feet for another birdie at number 13. Tom was set up to take the game a few holes to take over later, but he was turned upside down when Schauffele converted an improbable birdie attempt from the green to retake the lead.
The American lead was short-lived, as the internationals won number 16 to even equalize again. While the podium was taken from Kim at 15, it was his and his only on the 18th green as the 20-year-old Korean made a connection from 3 meters to secure an all-too-critical full point for the internationals.
Match 2: Spieth/Thomas 4&3 over Matsuyama/Pendrith
Expect something different? At first it felt like vintage Hideki would be there after putting his approach shots on the first two holes. Converting the first one failed to connect on number 2 and instead saw Spieth take over the gap from him and Pendrith. The putter was ultimately Matsuyama’s downfall as he received little to no help from his Canadian counterpart.
Four birdies from Spieth and Thomas on the first nine were enough to take a 3 UP lead after the first nine. Steady wave van fended off any thought of a comeback from there as this group wrapped up their match at number 15 – just like they did in the morning session. The partnership improved to 4-0-0 on the week.
Match 3: Im/Munoz 3&2 over Finau/Kisner
If the internationals fall short this week, Immelman may hang his head and wonder why he didn’t play this duo in foursomes. After tying Burns and Scheffler on Friday, Im and Munoz were back at it on Saturday.
The two took the lead with a Munoz birdie on the par-3 fourth and kept it under constant control. Kisner wasn’t very helpful all afternoon, but did contribute an eagle on the par-5 seventh to square up.
I added birdies on the par-4 eighth and the par-4 eleventh to take a 2 UP lead and Munoz broke the US’s back with one of his own on the 13th. A few exchanges later, the internationals closed the game at 16. Im and Munoz played their 34 holes of four ball together in 18 under.
Match 4: Scott/Davis 1 UP over Burns/Horschel
After throwing off Scheffler’s partnership, Burns was a man possessed besides Horschel. The men who played the Zurich Classic and QBE Shootout together seemed to be right next to each other at home with Burns ahead. The LSU product carded three birdies on its front nine and had the Americans tied for the home half. Burns added birdies on 11, 12 and 14 to eventually take a 1 UP lead over the Australian pair.
Horschel had a chance to double the margin on the 15th, but was unable to cash it. This left the door open for the internationals, who stepped right through with an eagle from Davis on the par-5 16th to equalize and a birdie from his blade on 17 to take their first lead of the game. He added another on the latter to play his last three holes in 4 under and make this Presidents Cup a legitimate contest en route to Sunday’s singles as the US lead has been reduced to 11-7.